Through the word Catholicism we can designate that religion that is professed by Christians and that is distinguished by the recognition of the Pope as the representative of God on earth and as the highest authority of the Catholic Church.
Branch of Christianity that recognizes the Pope as the highest authority on earth
It is the main branch in which Christianity has been divided in what was known as the Great Schism, in the year 1054, a conflict in which the separation between the Pope and Bishop of Rome and the highest authorities of the Orthodox Church.
Christianity is a monotheistic religion with Abrahamic roots, because it finds its origin in the legacy of the first prophet of the Jews Abraham, the other two that share this origin are Judaism and Islam.
Bases on which Catholicism is based
The fundamental basis of Christianity are the teachings and messages of Jesus of Nazareth that are gathered in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, Christians and therefore Catholics, believe that Jesus is the son of God who became man and came to the earth to redeem men from original sin, and that for this he died crucified on the cross and after a few days he rose again, an event that is celebrated at Easter.
In addition, Catholics, as the followers of Catholicism are called, as we have already pointed out, are faithful believers and assiduous attendees at the celebrations, doctrine, theology, ethical values and dogmas of the Catholic Church.
The concept of Catholicism has also been used to refer to the Universal Church and everything that depends on it and produces it: its doctrine, theology, the liturgy, the ethical principles that govern it, the characteristics and the norms of behavior that it demands.
And also the term Catholicism is used to designate the set of individuals who profess the catholic religion.
It should be noted that dogmasAs Catholics call the truth revealed by God and promoted by the Church for the knowledge and belief of Catholics, they turn out to be the fundamental beliefs that distinguish and define the Catholic religion with respect to other Christian proposals.
Meanwhile, these revealed truths find their reason for being, on the one hand, in the Bible, and on the other hand in the apostolic tradition, that is, in the testimony of the apostles who accompanied Jesus in his passage through earth.
Main Catholic dogmas
Then, the amount of dogmas that nourish Catholicism is varied, while among the most outstanding we can mention: that of the Trinity, which maintains that there are three divinities: the father, the son and the holy spirit, which make up a single God; the Eucharist, which are the bread and wine transformed into the Eucharist that Catholics receive at Masses; the Immaculate Conception, proposes that Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the only mortal who has not been affected by original sin, then, from her conception, she enjoyed freedom from sin, unlike the rest of mortals; and finally the divine motherhood, which establishes that the Virgin Mary is the mother of God.
Sacraments and commandments
On the other hand, Catholicism recognizes seven sacraments, which were opportunely established by Jesus and that the Catholic must respect and observe: baptism, communion, confirmation, penance, anointing of the sick, marriage and holy order.
And also, fulfilling an essential role in Catholicism, we meet the ten Commandments proposed by God to Moses so that men fulfill them without exceptions: love God above all things, do not take God's name in vain, sanctify the Lord's Day, honor father and mother, do not kill, do not commit impure acts, do not steal, do not bear false witness, or lie, not indulge in impure thoughts or desires and not covet the goods of others.
The influence of the Pope: today Francis
The Pope deserves a separate paragraph, who for Catholicism is the highest representative of God on earth and to whom they pay homage and absolute respect.
He is considered as the successor of Saint Peter, an apostle who accompanied Jesus, and who has been considered the First Pope.
Currently, the Pope of the Catholic Church is Francisco, former Cardinal Primate and Archbishop of Buenos Aires, capital of his homeland, Argentina.
When Pope Benedict XVI decided to resign, in 2013, the conclave of cardinals, which is the body that elects the Popes of the Catholic Church, elected Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who decided to call himself Pope Francis.
Francis arrived at a complex moment in the Church, with the loss of the faithful and also with tremendous accusations of pedophilia by some members, while Francis, with a profile certainly far removed from that of the traditional Pope, less formal, hyper humble, closer to the people and to those most in need, it has been able to positively change the image of the Church in the world and attract lost faithful once again.
